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I have a photo of myself, my father and my nephew sitting on the porch of my fathers home. It is not hard to see that all three of us are closely related. My sister and my middle daughter also share a striking resemblance. I guess you can say the quote, “The nut never falls from from the tree,” is a very true statement. In my family, we all share some characteristics that define us as being a part of the Ellis family. In Genesis the bible tells us that we were created in the image of God.

Genesis 1: 26 ESV Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So what exactly does that mean? In the Ellis family many of us have dark hair, a dark complexion and unfortunately we are usually a bit short and fluffy! So what are the characteristic's, that we as human beings, share with God? It certainly can't be the color of our hair or skin. The children's song, Jesus loves the little children, makes it clear that God's children come in ever color. The lyrics of the song say, “Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white. They are precious in His sight.” So if we don't share the color of our hair or skin with God, Maybe it is something else. Do you think maybe God share the similar features such as 10 fingers, 10 toes, 2 eyes and 2 ears? Let us be clear, the bible says we were created by God in his image, so we did not evolve and have not ever evolved from lower forms of life. We were created directly by God to represent Him on the earth and have dominion over every other creation in His name.

Genesis 1: 27-28 ESV So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Having God’s image means we are fashioned to resemble and represent God on the earth. Some Christians like to say we are, Image bearers of God. Image and likeness are similar yet different terms. A person may be described as an exact copy of his parents, just like myself and my nephew are very image of my father. However, that similarity does not does no mean we are identical. To be like someone else means to possess many, but not all the characteristics of each other. Obviously, we don’t possess God’s omnipotence, His wisdom, righteousness, perfection, divinity, and so on. Having the image and likeness of God means, in simple terms, that we were made to resemble Him. The truth is that all humanity was created in the same image and likeness of God; all human beings reflect and express the image of God, unlike animals, plants and minerals. We possessed a special likeness to God for we are capable of developing a personal and spiritual relationship with Him. There are some basic attributes of human nature we have in our likeness with God, such as our intellect, our free will, and our capacity to relate. We are able to think in spiritual ways, acquire knowledge and wisdom. We have the ability to distinguish right from wrong and to make intelligent choices. Free will is another characteristic we share with God. We may use this freedom to worship God or to curse God. Through the Holy Spirits leading we are guided in the right direction, but He does not force us. While God is always reaching out to develop a relationship with us, it is us who choose to accept his invita

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